Holy Spirit

Have someone ever hurt your deeply? Has a person you trusted turned against you? Remembering those things still brings pain, doesn’t it? Often we choose to protect ourselves by avoiding such persons and being very careful in choosing those to whom we make ourselves vulnerable. It hurts too much to take big risks!

God is not like us. He risked and received great pain by becoming human. Jesus never forced anyone to follow Him. He invited and then accepted their decision. But how it must have hurt when those He invited turned away. He went on to suffer rejection, shame and even death at the hands of human beings.

God goes ever further. Now, He actually lives inside those who follow Jesus. He knows our thoughts, sees our actions, and, I’m sure, cringes at some of the things we do and say. We can’t possibly understand the the risk to which God exposes Himself by being intimately personal with us. As author Philip Yancey puts it, “Words fail to capture the enormity of descent when a sovereign God takes up residence in a person and says in effect ‘Don’t hurt me. Don’t push me away.'”

Don’t reject Him. Trust Him. Listen to Him. When we do, we find that He, who risks being hurt by us, will never hurt us back.

The sovereign God gives a choice. We can turn away, or we can turn toward Him, honoring His presence in our lives by making Him our first priority. Then, our hearts will be overwhelmed by the constant attention of our great Lover, who simply asks that we don’t hurt Him.

“My precious Lord, I want to be often and long alone with You.” – Gary Thomas

Like this:

“Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?” – 1 Corinthians 3:16

Have you ever wanted to be extraordinary? To be stronger, wiser, and more insightful than other people? Maybe you are and you just don’t know it. Here’s a clue:

Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, calling them out for bragging about which leader they were loyal to and then fighting with others about whose leader was more spiritual, had better ideas, or had superior credentials. Paul reminded them that when they behaved this way, they were acting like mere humans, just ordinary people (1 Corinthians 3:4). He goes on to tell them, as followers of Jesus Christ, they were much more than mere humans. Why? Because God was living within them.

He lives in us, too!

It is so easy to get caught up in intellectual debates or in following the latest teacher or preacher. It is tempting to get involved in political arguments or interpersonal conflicts. But, God is telling us we are better than that. We need to step back and realize our true role: To be occupied and controlled by the Holy Spirit. To be a holy temple for God himself. We are above the muddy fights. We are no longer mere humans. We are God’s ambassadors – His hands and feet and face to the world around us.

Knowing this challenges me to follow Jesus’ example of loving, helping, listening, touching, and, yes, sometimes confronting evil. He was not a mere human and His followers aren’t either. We are extraordinary, God- empowered humans. Let’s live it out!

“My job is not to solve people’s problems or make them happy, but to help them see the grace operating in their lives.” – Eugene Peterson

Once I identify the fear I am dealing with, I can pray specifically for the protection I need. The fears that most often surface for me relate to things I can’t control. When I know I don’t have influence over what may be about to happen, fear can strike to my core.

Psalm 16:1b: . . . for in You I take refuge.

Refuge in God means I trust Him to take care of me. It means I give up control to Him. He is my safe place. He protects me even from myself, my weaknesses, flaws, and lack of judgment, as well as from other people’s mistakes or intentions. As I surrender my will and my specifically identified fear to Him, room is created in my soul for peace to seep in. Little by little, by the power of the Holy Spirit, peace conquers fear and I am at rest.

Until next time, that is. Then we do it again. But God is never impatient with my call to Him for help and my desire to take refuge in Him. He just seems pleased that I am learning to trust Him when I am afraid. He is ready to welcome you to His safe place, too. Just ask Him.

“Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don’t be afraid.” – Frederick Buechner

Like this:

In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe. (Hebrews 1:1-2)

God speaks. Sometimes we don’t hear very well, but we have to acknowledge that God tries to let us know who He is, what He wants, and how the world should work. I recently read Acts 11 and found five different means God used to communicate to two men in this one chapter

A vision (v.4)

A voice from heaven (v. 7)

The Holy Spirit’s direction (v. 12)

An angel’s instruction (v. 13)

The teaching of Jesus (v. 16)

I haven’t had visions, seen angels, or heard an audible voice from heaven, but

I have sensed the Holy Spirit’s direction, sometimes as a nudge, often as a thought He brings to my mind or a Scripture He highlights as I read.

I have learned much about life, values, commitment, and obedience from the life and teaching of Jesus, and the Holy Spirit seems to bring the right teaching to my mind just when I need it.

I believe the angels are ministering to me even though I can’t see them (Hebrews 1:14).

God is way beyond our ability to comprehend, but He continues to communicate with us to reveal His will and His love. I am so thankful for His desire to reach out to us and to help us learn to be aware, to listen carefully, to respond with faith, and to obey immediately. When we do, we find more and more communication flowing from the heart and mind of God to ours. There is nothing more precious in life than that. We were created to respond to our speaking God.